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Insuring a new driver can be expensive. Learn what you can do to keep your premiums as low as possible and your teen accident-free.

Tips to Keep Costs Down

If you’re the parent of a teenager who is getting ready to climb behind the steering wheel, insuring your new driver can be an expensive endeavor. This is because the risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. We’ve gathered some helpful tips to help you keep your premiums as low as possible, and keep your teen safe and accident-free.

Add Your Teen to Your Auto Policy

Rather than setting up an independent policy for your teen driver, consider adding him or her as an additional driver on your auto insurance policy. Also, if you have more than one vehicle, keep costs down by designating which vehicle your child will be driving.

Deductible Considerations

Auto deductibles typically range from $250 to $1,000. By upping your deductible and using your insurance for big repairs, you can significantly reduce your premium.

Ask for the Student Discount

If your teenager maintains at least a 3.0 grade point average (GPA), he or she typically qualifies for a rate discount.

Weigh Your Buying Decision

Wanting to get your teenager a new car to drive with the latest safety equipment is understandable, but you may be better off purchasing a safe, used vehicle in terms of premium prices.

Set Your Expectations for Safety and Minimize Distracted Driving

Teens can get distracted easily. To help reduce potential accidents:
• Restrict your teen’s nighttime driving
• Do not allow them to drive with more than one other person in the car
• Ban cell phone use while driving
• Ride with your son or daughter occasionally to make sure they are keeping up with the safety habits that they learned in driver’s education

We’re Here to Help
Call our office today at (916) 380-5300 to learn more about all of our automobile insurance and personal risk management solutions.

Top Ways to Save on Your Auto Premium:
• Raise your deductible.
• Ask about a good student discount
• Have your teen keep up their good driving record
• Ask about our multi-policy discounts.

According to a study conducted by researchers at the Finnish Institute for Occupational Health, young adults who engage in work that involves heavy lifting and forceful movements could be at an increased risk of developing back pain later in life.

Researchers surveyed 738 Finnish men and women between the ages of 18 and 24, and then followed up with that same group 20 years later. For both men and women, the likelihood of developing lower back pain roughly doubled among workers who had engaged in heavy lifting when they were younger.

Researchers suggest that one reason for the disparity might be that younger workers who don’t use proper lifting techniques or equipment are able to heal faster or work through the pain when they are younger. However, as they age, repeated stress and injury catches up with them, increasing the likelihood of developing lower back pain.

The researchers suggested that both workers and employers should take the time to learn and implement proper lifting techniques, especially among young workers, to reduce the risk of pain or musculoskeletal injury.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched the National Water Model last month—a powerful tool that officials are hailing as the biggest improvement to flood forecasting that the nation has ever seen.

The National Water Model uses data gathered from more than 8,000 U.S. Geological Survey gauges, runs it through a powerful Cray ZC40 supercomputer and then simulates streamflow forecasts every hour for 2.7 million locations in the United States. Previously, NOAA had only been able to generate forecasts for 4,000 locations, and those forecasts took several hours to generate.

Officials say, at first, the model will be able to provide forecasts for areas that previously haven’t had access to them, as well as more accurate flash flood forecasts in headwater areas. In time, as the model evolves, it will eventually be able to provide street-level forecasts, as well as improved forecasting during flash floods.

In addition to the obvious benefits for government officials and emergency responders, the model will also give businesses a better opportunity to anticipate and adapt to changing conditions in the event that they need to launch their business continuity plans.

For more information on business continuity planning resources, contact us at (916) 380-5300 today.

Despite diligent preparation, it would appear that Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS)—the host broadcasters responsible for delivering the audio and video to those who purchased rights to broadcast the Olympic games around the world—suffered a data breach during the Olympics in Rio last month. The effect of the data breach could be huge, since OBS is the single largest employer involved in the Olympic games, with more than 7,100 workers from 69 countries on its payroll.

The attack appears to have been the work of a group of Brazilian hacktivists. That group used social media to publish proof of the hack, including OBS employees’ and freelancers’ names, email addresses, job titles, and mobile and landline phone numbers. Some analysts also suspect that the hacktivists may have been responsible for the collapse of an OBS video camera on Aug. 15 that injured some spectators.

Still, the data breach appears to have been relatively limited, thanks to heightened security measures. OBS officials detected the breach quickly, shut down the particular avenue of attack in order to install extra security measures, and sent out an email informing its employees of the breach and reemphasizing the importance of being suspicious of phishing emails.
For more information on how to reduce your vulnerability to a cyber attack or how to respond when one is discovered, contact your partners at Warren G. Bender Co. today.